


you know the two of us are just young gods

by hearden



Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Angst, Dimension Travel, F/F, F/M, Shattered Grid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 08:57:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14053452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hearden/pseuds/hearden
Summary: Kim falls into another universe where the Power Rangers are dead and everyone looks at her like she killed them.(aka the reboot movie/drakkon-verse au i've been wanting to write for forever)





	you know the two of us are just young gods

**Author's Note:**

> for @kimberlyannharts on tumblr bc all tomberly fans are valid in this chili's tonight, march 21st 2018, god bless amen
> 
> spoilers for the mmpr comics, shattered grid, and the identity of the mystery ranger
> 
> inspired by the drakkon-verse from the mmpr comics but no actual reading of the comics is required to rly understand what's going on, just like easter eggs and stuff
> 
>  **warnings:** mentions of character death, murder, and violence (i'm not entirely attached to this being mature but i tagged it as such in case some ppl might think the violence in here is more mature than teen)

If Billy were around to explain it to her, Kim would've known that what had _actually_ happened was a weird, cosmic imbalancing of the space-time continuum from the energy released when they stabbed the monster they'd been fighting in the shiny, glowy, green crystal in the middle of its chest and it exploded into a million pieces, showering the Megazord and the outskirts of Angel Grove with rubble and debris. As such, when the Rangers got out of the Megazord to check up on the civilians on the ground and Kim _found_ that same crystal, still somehow intact even though they'd _surely_ stabbed it, she wouldn't have touched it, if Billy had been standing over her shoulder to tell her all about the science mumbo-jumbo that she never really understood but tried so very hard to. But Billy hadn't been standing behind her. He'd been helping Jason lift a steel beam off of a trapped woman and Kim had seen an eerie glow under a slab of rock and it had all happened so _fast--_

To her, it just seemed like she was horribly, horribly fucked, and in hindsight, maybe touching weird glowing crystals was a bad idea.

Kim coughs, her chest heaving, and rolls over on her back, staring up at the sky. It's dark out, which is the first clue that something strange has taken place. The battle she was just in had been during the day; she knew because it miraculously saved her from a biology test that she hadn't studied for because, surprise, the Rangers had fought another monster the previous night. Rita and Zedd's attacks were getting more ferocious, more frequent with less breaks in between. If Kim didn't know any better, she would think they were building _up_ to something.

Sitting up, she shakes her head to rid herself of the disorientation and groans. Her skin was practically invulnerable, now, but that didn't mean that falling flat on her face didn't hurt. Kim brings her wrist up and presses the side button on her communicator, frowning when it doesn't beep to signal that she's tuning in to the other Rangers' frequency like it normally does.

"Zordon?" she says into the communicator, "Alpha? Anyone?" There's only silence, so Kim taps the watch face. Billy had designed them with smart watches in mind, but with the addition of some _other_ functions, of course. The time pops up: 10:57 AM. Kim glances up again at the dark, night sky; she can see the faint twinkling of some distant stars. It is definitely not 10:57 in the morning.

Standing up, Kim brushes off her clothes and looks around, trying to gauge where she is. There's nothing around her but hills and dirt. She warily steps closer to a hole in the ground, squinting at a wide scorch mark in the dirt, reaching out but pulling her hand back before she touches it. _Not a good idea to make the same mistake twice in an hour, Kim,_ she chides herself.

 _There was a battle here,_ Kim thinks, taking in the rest of the landscape in. It's evident enough from the marks scattered in the area and the rubble, but… "If there was a battle," Kim murmurs, "Where are the bodies?" Someone always falls, but where's the _other_ evidence?

Her question is almost immediately answered by the sound of footsteps in the distance. Kim's eyes widen, even as her superhuman hearing picks up the crunch of boots on gravel sand. Cursing the universe for listening to her, she hastily looks for a place to hide, ducking and squeezing herself underneath a pile of rubble and hoping that she can make herself as small as possible in order to not be noticed by bringing her knees up to her chest. Biting on her lower lip, Kim stills her breathing and waits, her heartbeat pounding wildly in her ears. The footsteps comes nearer and nearer until they sound like they've just entered the area she was just standing in.

"Spread out! The readings registered somewhere around here. Look for anything out of place, but be on guard. It could be a trap." She hears a female voice bark out orders to others and trembles at the uncertainty of there being _others._ She doesn't know how many people are out there, how many she's up against, if they're friendly or not. The number of footsteps she hears spreading out isn't a number she can truly count; there's way too many, and Kim swallows, holding her knees closer to her chest. A Power Ranger shouldn't be _cowering_ and _hiding_ under a pile of rock, ideally, but she doesn't know shit about where she even _is_ or where her team is. She has powers, yes, but Kim's only ever faced monsters sent by Rita and Zedd. Humans are a different matter, and, even then, the only human she's ever faced was a category all on her own -- and not of her own will, anyway.

Maybe her heart beats too loudly, and someone hears it. Kim figures that's impossible, but it seems _very_ plausible because a pair of boots step right past her hiding spot then pause. She holds her breath, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. _Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving._

A flashlight shines right in her eyes. Kim cringes, squinting against the harsh flash, and when it fades, she's staring into a pair of blue eyes as cold as ice. The woman looking through the hole at Kim has a set frown on her face, her jaw clenched. Her blonde hair is streaked with dirt, and, despite the bright pink color of the tactical vest she has on, she looks like she just walked off of a battlefield. Kim wonders what the other guys look like, then, if this woman did the fighting.

"I've got something!" the blonde says and Kim tries to shrink back, but the woman holds the barrel of an automatic rifle up to where she can see it and shakes her head, "Just come out slowly, and nobody has to get hurt."

Kim doesn't mention that she highly doubts that those bullets would hurt her, but she nods, almost imperceptibly, and the woman steps back to give her space to get out. She _almost_ just uses her superhuman strength to shove the rubble off of her body, instead, but that would be displaying something that she doesn't need to give away. So, Kim wriggles her way out of the hole, straightening her clothes when she stumbles out onto the ground.

Four barrels of automatic rifles are pointed right at her, held by the blonde, two other women she doesn't recognize who're dressed in dark yellow shawls, and a man in black rags. Breathing shakily, Kim backs up, immediately sticking her hands in the air. Her back hits the pile of rubble she'd just left, and she regrets not having just booked it out of there the moment she heard footsteps instead of trying to hide.

"Don't-- don't shoot," she pleads, feeling useless. _Everyone_ always says that in movies. Kim wonders what kind of people these people are -- the ones to _not_ shoot when begged to or the ones who do out of spite of being begged with?

The four don't directly address her but keep their eyes on her.

"Do you think it's a trap?" the blonde asks. The side glance she gives is in the direction of the man and it's the man who answers, so Kim assumes he's in charge.

"I don't know," he says, shifting his grip on his rifle.

"Maybe it's a trick," the dark-skinned woman in yellow says, frowning at Kim, "Like Sabrina was."

"Sabrina was a long time ago," her other friend in yellow responds. There's something… odd about her and the man. Kim can't put her finger on it, but they look familiar to her, despite the fact that she's never seen them before.

Kim doesn't know who the hell Sabrina is, but she glares at the four of them, "Who-- who _are_ you? C-can you stop pointing your guns at me, _please?_ "

The man narrows his eyes at her then lowers his guns and motions for the women to lower their guns as well. "My finger is still on the trigger," he says, quietly, a thinly-veiled threat.

"Believe me," Kim says, her breathing still shaky, "I'm not gonna try."

"You first," the man nods at her, "Who are you?"

"Tell me where I am first," she demands but steps back when he raises his eyebrows and his arm briefly starts the trajectory to bring his gun up to point at her again, "No, no, that's-- that's okay, don't--" She blinks, and a few tears silently trail down her cheeks.

"Zack," the blonde murmurs, "You're scaring her."

Kim pauses, her mouth falling open a little; she doesn't know the man, but hearing the name _Zack_ suddenly makes looking at him _feel_ clearer like a veil being lifted from over her eyes. "Zack…?" she echoes, furrowing her brow.

The man tilts his head at her, his eyes hard, "Yes, that's my name. What's it mean to you?"

"I-- Nothing," she lies, shaking her head. It's just a common name. There's no connection between this man who pointed a damn _gun_ at her and her teammate who is _God_ knows where.

"You still haven't told us who you are," Zack says, his mouth a thin line, "These parts are dangerous. Don't know who you can trust anymore."

 _These parts…?_ Kim blinks in confusion. She can't think of a single place in the world where it warrants pointing a gun at a stranger before even _talking_ to them -- well, actually, she can, but… this landscape looks different than she would peg for any of the thoughts in her mind. In fact, this landscape looks ghostly familiar, like Zack and the other woman in yellow do. "I, um, I'm Kim," she says, simply.

All four of them immediately stiffen, and Kim realizes she probably should have given a fake name. Shit. She doesn't even know who these people _are._

"It's just a name," the blonde says to the others, reassuringly.

"Yeah, well, maybe it's _just_ a trap--"

" _Aisha._ "

"Don't _Aisha_ me, Kat."

Zack cuts the two of them off and stares at Kim, "What's your last name?"

"I don't-- I don't know if I should give you that," she stutters, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. The look in his eyes. Kim had seen danger in someone's eyes before -- in Tommie's right after she told her in the hallways of school after detention that she _knew_ Tommie was the Green Ranger. The smirk that had danced on Tommie's lips, beautiful but haunting, had made Kim's blood run cold. Zack isn't smirking, but the look in his eyes mirrors what she'd seen in Tommie. There was somewhere to stand with him -- with or against -- and that all depended on Kim's answer and the gun in his hands.

"What's your _last_ name?" he repeats, not raising his voice but only stressing the syllable.

"Hart," Kim whispers, having trouble getting the word out, and Zack's jaw clenches as the other three mirror his tense stance, tightening their grips on their guns.

Wrong answer.

 

-

 

The blonde named Kat takes off the wide headband holding her bangs back from falling into her eyes and slips it over Kim's eyes. "No hard feelings," she says, quietly, "Safety precaution." Kim doesn't respond but lets her wrists be tied up. She feels a zip tie get tightened against her skin and quietly grunts as Kat takes her by the arm and guides her. The other three can be heard walking around them -- one in front, one on Kim's left, Kat on Kim's right, and one behind her. Protecting her or making sure she doesn't run, Kim doesn't know. Could be either, but she presumes it's the latter.

There's still a mystery left to be solved -- two, actually. Kim still doesn't know who these people are. For all of the questions and cold looks they've given her, they haven't answered a single one of hers, so she stopped asking the moment the headband was put over her eyes. Not that she's quite in a position to be _asking_ questions since she's not the one with a deadly weapon in her hand.

The second, the last woman remains unnamed to her.

They lead her… somewhere. Kim can pick up the sound of a gate opening, feel an odd change in the atmosphere like she's going from somewhere outside to somewhere… less outside. Not necessarily a building because she can't feel air conditioning, but the air just _feels_ different. She can sense it.

A chair scrapes against the floor, and Kim is led into it, her back hitting the chair as she's all but shoved down. The headband is removed from her eyes, and she squints at the harsh overhead light. She glances around the room -- if "room" is even an accurate descriptor. There's a curtain with a few holes in it hanging over the only opening, acting as the "door", but Kim can still see the bottom of people's shoes as they walk by. The rest of the "room" is made up of boxes and wooden boards stacked up high and higher.

"Cozy place you've got here," she quips. The four don't look very amused. Kim decides staying quiet would probably keep her alive longer.

"What do we do with her?" the woman in yellow asks, crossing her arms. A scowl is set on her face, tough and distrustful, reminding Kim of how Trini had looked at all of them when they first--

_Trini._

"Oh, my God," Kim whispers, gaping at the woman, a lightbulb flickering on in her head.

"What?" the woman narrows her eyes.

" _Trini,_ " Kim says, and the woman stiffens, squaring her shoulders.

She falters, though, "How… how do you know my name?" Trini grits her teeth and hisses, coldly, "Did _she_ tell you?"

"Hey," Zack steps forward and holds Trini back, gently putting his hand on her shoulder, "Stop."

Kim stares at the place where they're touching. It looks so innocent, so normal, but something in her brain tells her it's not. "You…" she can't get the words out, "You're…" Kim blinks, a thought occurring to her, and starts rambling, "If you're Trini and you're Zack, where's Jason? Billy? Where's Billy? Look, I'm not-- I don't know where I _am_ or where _this_ is, but I'm not from here. I don't _belong_ here. Billy can-- he's smart, he can prove it, right? Billy can do anything."

Kim doesn't see the slap coming, but either way, she hardly feels it against her skin and her head doesn't move, not even a fraction. There's a blur of movement, and then Trini exclaims in pain and cradles her right hand, her eyes burning with rage. Zack yanks her back and frantically glances between the two of them, confused.

"How _dare_ you--" Trini starts, but Zack cuts her off.

"Aisha, take her to cool off."

"Zack, I _deserve_ to be here--"

"No, you're _leaving._ " He herds her past the curtain and Aisha follows, leaving Kim in the room with only him and Kat.

Kim frowns, "She _slapped_ me."

"Yet it didn't even faze you," Zack comments, curiously tilting his head at her, "Our bullets wouldn't have even hurt you, would they?"

Kim hesitantly gulps, "It's… more about the courtesy of not shooting strangers on sight, I would say."

"But, we're not strangers to you," Kat points out, "Or, at least, Trini and Zack aren't. You know their names."

"But, she didn't recognize us right away," Zack continues, "So, you're not from the other world, are you? You know our names, but we… look different where you're from, don't we?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kim agrees, nodding quickly, "Look, just ask Billy. He can prove I'm not from-- wherever the hell _here_ is, and I'm sure he can get me home and out of your hair."

"You're in Angel Grove," Zack says, sharply, "And Billy's dead."

Kim's blood freezes. "W-what?" Her breathing quickens, and tears well up in her eyes. "He's--" _No, no, not again._ Billy could do _anything,_ but he was dead here? Kim can't speak, just stares at Zack in disbelief, her lips parted in shock.

"Jason's dead, too," Kat adds, solemnly looking at the ground instead of at Kim.

"What…" she doesn't even want to ask, but Kim needs the full story to piece together why everyone she's met here so far will only look at her with either detachment or hatred in their eyes, "What happened?"

"Why would we tell you?" Kat asks, suddenly narrowing her eyes, "You said it yourself, you don't belong here."

"I-- Yeah, but I'm a _Power Ranger,_ and you all keep looking at me like… like I did something _bad_ to you," Kim sputters, "I just wanna know why. What the hell happened around here?"

Zack scoffs, "The Power Rangers are gone. Dead. The rest of us who are left haven't had powers in a long, long time. We're… coinless."

"You don't believe me?" Kim raises her eyebrows, "My power coin is in my pocket. Right front." When neither Zack or Kat make a move toward her, she raises her tied-up wrists, "Uh, I can't really do it _for_ you…"

Kat sighs and steps closer, eyeing Kim, "Don't try anything."

Technically, she _could_ probably bash her fists against Kat's head and knock her out cold then take Zack easily, given how she's a superhuman and they're -- based on context clues -- _not,_ but Kim decides against it. There's no telling how many other people they have in this base.

Kat reaches into the pocket Kim had said and pulls out two things: her phone and her power coin. The golden edge glints underneath the overhead lights, and Kat examines it, holding it up in the air. The light shines through the middle, illuminating the etched image of a pterodactyl in the center of the pink stone. Kat swallows, not saying a word, and hands the coin to Zack, who takes it and grimaces at what he sees.

"How many Rangers are on your team?" Zack asks, quietly.

"Six -- five others and me," Kim answers without missing a beat, "Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy, and Tommie."

"Tommy stayed with your team?"

Kim furrows her brow, confused because _as opposed to…,_ but answers the question, anyway, "Yeah, she stayed with my team. We broke Rita and Zedd's control over her, and she's been fighting by our side ever since."

Kat raises her eyebrows, " _She?_ "

Kim nods at her phone, "Unlock it. The passcode is 0828."

Zack goes pale at that and turns away, putting his back to Kim. She glances at him, her heart sinking at how his shoulders shake but she can tell by the way he holds his fist to his mouth that he's trying to keep himself collected.

Kim's phone unlocks with a soft _click,_ and Kat stares at the background Kim has on her screen. She knows which one it is -- the group selfie she and the other Rangers had taken it just a few weeks earlier at the midnight premiere of Ragnarok they'd gone to see together. Kat shows it to Zack, who only spares a glance then quickly tears his eyes away, his body stiff.

"You guys look happy," Kat observes, her voice betraying only a hint of longing.

"What _happened?_ " Kim repeats, ignoring that Kat pockets her phone and power coin. The phone she doesn't need right now, and the coin… well, the coin always returns to her, not that these people need to know that.

"Tommy," Zack says the name like it creates a bad taste on his tongue, " _He's_ what happened." He turns around and shakes his head, "Maybe yours joined you, but ours didn't. He turned on us. Told us to stay away from him and went crawling back to Rita."

Kim's eyes widen, and she hastily shakes her head, "Tommie-- Tommie _wouldn't--_ "

"He _did,_ " Zack restates, firmly, "He took on a new name -- Lord Drakkon -- and raised his own army with Rita to destroy us. He attacked the Command Center and killed Jason and Zordon… the rest of us would've died, too, but…" He trails off and glances at Kat, who shakes her head the smallest fraction, but it's enough of an answer for whatever silent conversation they're having.

"But _what?_ " Kim asks, frustration edging into her voice. She _is_ the one tied up here, but she doesn't appreciate being tiptoed around.

"Billy sacrificed himself to save Trini," Kat says, simply, running a hand through her hair and sighing, "He saved the rest of the Rangers in doing so."

Kim stares at the ground, wiping at her eyes the best she can with her hands restrained. She shouldn't ask because nobody's mentioned it, but she has to know -- the curiosity is nagging at her, _killing_ her. "What… what about me? Where am I?"

"You died when Drakkon invaded the Command Center." With that, Kat takes Zack by the arm and leads him out of the room, leaving Kim to hang her head in grief.

 

-

 

Hours later, Kim's power coin _still_ hasn't returned to her pocket. She dozes off into many sporadic little naps, jolting awake whenever there's a loud noise echoing through the base. The last time she wakes up is when she finally drifts off into a deep enough sleep that her head droops to the side and her weight shifts, sending her crashing to the ground. Kim groans, sighing and staring up at the distant ceiling in irritation.

The curtain -- "door" -- to the room rustles as someone comes in, and Trini stares down at her.

"You look comfortable," Trini says, flatly.

Kim scowls but says nothing.

"Giving me a silent treatment isn't going to reverse psychology me into answering any questions you have," Trini says, going over to help Kim up, but Kim shakes her head and manages to get back into the chair by herself.

"I don't need you to answer any questions," Kim mutters, "Kat already told me that I -- the _other_ me -- died in the same battle that killed Jason and Zordon."

If Trini has any reaction to that, she hides it well. "No questions, then? Not even one?"

Kim can't help it. "Why do you hate me? You… you look at me like I did some unforgivable crime or something, and we've never _met._ "

Trini reaches into her pocket and pulls out Kim's power coin, holding it up, "You remind me of my dead best friend."

Right. Of course.

She also pulls a knife out of her pocket and flicks it open, but Kim shies away when Trini steps closer.

"Calm down," Trini says, frowning, "I'm cutting you loose."

"Oh." Kim rubs her wrists when Trini severs the zip tie holding her prisoner and warily takes her power coin back.

"And this," Trini hands Kim her phone.

"Am I… free to go?" she asks in confusion and puts her phone in her pocket, missing the fact that she doesn't even have a _way_ to get home.

"No," Trini says, and Kim immediately shuts up, "But we all wanted to test something."

"O...kay?"

"Morph."

"What?"

Trini nods at the power coin, "You said you're a Ranger. I don't know where your morpher is or if that rock _is_ your morpher, but if you're a Ranger, then morph."

Kim has _no_ idea what a morpher is, but she lifts her chin a little higher and stands up, dissatisfied with the fact that _this_ Trini is the same height as her, therefore she can't use her height to be intimidating. "Okay," she says, a little shakily, and tightly grips her coin, "Fine, I can do that."

She closes her eyes and reaches inside of her, thinking about the others and her bond to them. At first, morphing had been slow. Not hard, just slow. It took concentrated thought and no distractions for her to morph, and sometimes, even a wayward thought from her always-on brain would shift Kim back to normal if she was midway through summoning her armor. But, as the months had gone on and she had gotten more and more practice, morphing became almost instantaneous. She could summon her armor without even _really_ thinking about it, and if she wanted to, she could only partially morph, strengthening her arms or such if a fight didn't require her full effort.

Kim feels inside of herself and tugs, but there's no response but silence.

She opens her eyes, blinking in confusion. Trini just stares at her, arms crossed. Kim closes her eyes and tries again, focusing only on her connection to the other Rangers, not on the fact that she was stuck in this other world or dimension or whatever. Just them -- red, yellow, black, pink, blue, and green.

Nothing happens.

Kim sighs, her heart sinking in disappointment, and opens her eyes, her mouth open but at a loss for words. "I-I don't… I don't understand."

"Your powers are different from ours," Trini says, "That coin -- I guess you could _call it_ a coin -- isn't like the ones we had, so I'm assuming your Morphing Grid is different from ours, too, and by extension, your connection isn't compatible in our world."

"I-- I can't morph?"

"No, I guess you can't."

Kim sticks her coin back in her pocket and sighs, putting her face in her hands. "How… how am I gonna get home? I-- I don't even know where to _start._ "

"Some of us are working on it," Trini says, quietly, but doesn't meet her eyes, "You are our only problem right now, but progress has been slow."

"You don't have any… teleportation devices or something laying around?" Kim asks.

"No," Trini responds, evenly, "All of our tech was lost when Drakkon destroyed the Command Center, and without Billy around to help us, we've had to scrap together what we can, but Drakkon's army is constantly hounding us." She frowns and shakes her head in contempt, "We had a couple of weeks of peace for a little while, and then…"

"And then what?"

"And then some others came. A Billy and a Tommy from some other world, not yours and not ours. They fought Drakkon, and he died. Or, at least, we _hope_ he died. It was a pretty long fall."

Kim furrows her brow, "Wait a second. If Drakkon's _dead,_ then why are you still acting like he's breathing down your neck?"

"Because his _army_ is. We're just glad they haven't found this base yet." Trini turns to leave, "Come on, I'll show you to the mess hall -- mess area, more like it -- and some guest quarters."

"Wait--" Kim jogs to catch up when it's clear that Trini is going to keep walking, "Wait, you said that I was your _only_ problem, but you've got Drakkon's army to worry about, too, then…"

"I meant what I said," Trini simply replies, cutting off all conversation by speeding up her steps.

 

-

 

There's not much to do but wait. Kim tries to help around the base, but the people she _does_ catch staring at her aren't much help so she has to do most of her tasks without interacting with anyone else. And that's not to say anything about the people she _doesn't_ catch staring at her -- those she can _feel,_ even when her back is turned.

She sees the main four the most frequently. Zack is definitely in charge. Kim assumes that he was Jason's second-in-command, much like how she is for her Jason. It's evident in the way he walks around with authority on his shoulders since, well, since there's no Red to do the job for him. Trini would be the oldest, Kim guesses, out of everyone else -- if they've got the same birthdays as her friends at home, that is -- but she's quiet, sullen, and doesn't show much authority unless she needs to, much like the Trini Kim is familiar with.

Aisha and Kat are two people that she doesn't know -- along with everyone else in the base, really -- and Aisha keeps their interactions short but Kat is, at the very least, somewhat kind to her. Restrained and sometimes distant, but nevertheless, kind. She finds Kim an alternate set of clothes to change into when her own clothes get dirty from work and wear and she has to wash them. The pink shirt and dark jeans fit almost perfectly, and Kim doesn't have to ask if they're Kat's because she knows based on the fact that Kat only has one or two inches on her. But, the warm, plaid, green jacket, Kim also knows without asking, is _not_ Kat's.

When Trini passes by to talk to Kat about something and first sees Kim in _Tommy's_ jacket, she freezes, her blank expression quickly switching to a cold scowl. Kim avoids looking directly at either of them, but Kat must give Trini just as hard of a look back because Trini doesn't make a single comment.

 

-

 

Kim bolts awake to the shrill, glass-shattering screech of the base's alarm. Clamping a hand over her ears, she groans and stumbles out of her quarters, adjusting her eyes to the sight of people rushing every which way in a purposeful but chaotic scramble. Kat passes by her and backtracks, tugging her along by the sleeve of Tommy's jacket, "Come on, they've found us. We need to get to the armory."

"They? Who's-- Drakkon's army?"

Kat nods, grimly, and leads Kim into the armory, in which several others are quickly filing in and out, grabbing all sorts of weapons. This isn't an army -- it's hardly a militia, but, damn, if they don't use the opportunities they have to take weapons from the battles they _have_ managed to win or not entirely lose against Drakkon's soldiers. Nobody pays any attention to them as Kat takes Kim to the back of the armory where a steel gate is locked, protecting a lone shelf behind it. Reaching underneath her shirt, Kat produces a small key and fits it into the lock, opening the door easily. On the shelf are weapons, but unlike the Coinless' default choice of an automatic rifle, Kim recognizes the five weapons displayed on the shelf without trying. They look different than the ones she's used to -- significantly less alien and glowy, clearly made by human hands, probably -- but still holding an air of unmistakable _power._

A sword, a pair of daggers, an axe, a double-bladed lance, and a bow.

Kat grabs the bow and the quiver of arrows beside it and hands them to Kim, "I trust you know how to use these? Careful with where you shoot the arrows. They're rigged to explode on impact."

Kim runs her thumb along the grip of the bow -- it's black with pink accents, and something tells her that these weapons didn't belong to the original Power Rangers of this world. "Yeah," she nods and says, quietly, "I can work with this."

"Okay, good," Kat leaves the armory, grabbing a rifle on her way out, and Kim follows her, closely, "Our sensors show they're coming in from the east side. I don't know why they're _not_ flanking us because they easily could with the size of their army, even after the fight with the other Billy and Tommy, but I'm just glad they _aren't._ Be ready for anything, though."

Kat sends her off with some armor that manages to fit her a bit snugly -- an arm and hand guard for the bow and a tactical vest, just in case. Kim knows that bullets can't hurt her, but the "just in case" still has her worried.

She bursts out of the gate as fast as her feet and carry her and runs straight into the battlefield. The Coinless have managed to intercept Drakkon's army just over the east hill before they get _too_ close to the base gates, but that's still _too_ close for comfort. Drakkon's soldiers are dressed like Rangers -- in armor, but not like Kim's. Zack had shown her pictures they had, blueprints they'd sketched up of the information they had to work off of. When they lost their powers, Drakkon had utilized those same powers to multiply his arsenal, making regular soldiers into copycat Rangers, armed with _better_ armor than the original Rangers had and lasers that could kill.

Seeing the soldiers up close, now, though, is an entirely different experience. She sees the sentries that Drakkon had twisted the Black, Pink, and Yellow powers of, tangled in combat, tearing down Coinless fighters with easy shots to the head and chest. Kim figures out their methods pretty quick -- the Mastodon sentries are the infantry, handling all combat, the Saber-toothed Tiger sentries are the tanks, acting as the heavy back-up to the infantry, and the Pterodactyl sentries are the snipers, providing long-range support. Well, she can do a thing or two like that, too.

Kim breaks out into a run, flanking the left side of the battlefield, and sends an arrow flying at the nearest Pterodactyl sentry she can see at their sniping camp on top of the hill. The arrow taps the sentry's helmet, not puncturing it, but it doesn't need to. The following explosion blows the sentry's head messily off, leaving a smoldering mess of a body.

 _That_ definitely gets the next Pterodactyl sentry's attention, and Kim hastily dodges to the side as the sentry fires off a shot from their sniper rifle, not eager to find out if her skin is invulnerable to lasers, too.

"Kim!" She meets Trini's gaze from behind cover, and Trini motions to the sentry, "I'll cover you! Go!"

Kim nods, not pausing to appreciate the necessity of change in attitude; she can do that later, if she's still alive by later. Trini peeks her head over the cover of the rocks she's hiding behind and fires off a few quick bursts at the sentry, catching their attention. Breaking out of cover, Kim keeps herself close to the edges of the sentry's vision, relying on Trini to keep them distracted. When she's close, she fires another arrow, aiming it at the ground where the sentry is crouched over. The explosion rocks the sentry, sending them flying high in a shower of dirt and shrapnel. Kim's superhuman hearing picks up the unmistakable _snap_ of a neck as the sentry comes crashing back down to Earth. A wave of nausea rises in her stomach, but she forces it back down, struggling to keep her breathing calm.

Focused and determined, Kim continues on, blowing through her quiver as she aims for spots where the infantry is clustered and acts as the biggest problem for the Coinless troops. A few times, she cuts it close when a laser comes burning _too_ close to her head for her comfort, but every time, Aisha, Kat, Trini, or Zack back her up without hesitating. She's not part of their team -- the four of them are on a team of their own -- but it eases Kim's mind a bit to know that someone has her back in this fight, even if she isn't morphed.

The tide is starting to change. Kim feels the hope in her heart lift just a little bit at seeing the destruction on the battlefield -- not because it's attractive but because they're _winning._

And, then, a shrill screech cuts through the air, and Kim freezes.

She doesn't know the sound, but she _knows_ in her heart how she should react to it. Her body does, tensing, and she grips her bow tighter, bringing her eyes up to the dark sky. A giant robot streaks through the sky, leaving behind a white jet trail as it circles around the battlefield from up above. It's white and pink and looks the same as her own, but different.

"The pterodactyl," Kim whispers to herself, her heart racing.

The soldiers on the battlefield stop as well. Everything is dead silent for minutes as the pterodactyl lands in the clearing. Kim _knows_ that she should be taking advantage of everyone's stillness to get in a couple of justifiable but dirty jabs at Drakkon's army, but her feet won't move. A ramp lowers, puffing out smoke at the air pressure undergoing equilibrium.

Footsteps clank on the ramp, and a Pink Ranger steps down. Her armor is different from the Pterodactyl sentries but was clearly the inspiration behind them. Her helmet, Kim realizes with a start, is only a few tweaks away from her own design, the curves and edges all too chillingly similar. Black and white is splashed across the Ranger's armor, creating harsh but sleek lines. A tattered cape billows out behind the Ranger as she walks down to the end of the ramp, surveying the battlefield. In her hands is a bow, but it's not like any bow Kim's ever seen before. At first glance, it almost looks like a menacing sword with its sharp edges that remind Kim strikingly of the Sword of Darkness that Tommie had wielded when she had been under Rita's control, but the length and the bowstring give it away, as well as the archer's wrist guard on the Ranger's left forearm.

Kim swallows and glances down at her own left forearm, the guard inexplicably feeling uncomfortable against her skin. Something is so very, very wrong here. She almost considers turning and running for the base because the air just _feels_ off, but Kim is no coward--

The Ranger raises her bow, holds her index and middle finger together, draws them back from the grip to the bowstring, then hooks her fingers around the string and pulls. A black, metal arrow manifests from her fingers, taking its shape from the path she had traced, fitting neatly into the nock of her sharp bow. The Ranger pulls her arm back then fires, and the arrow slams right into Kim's left shoulder, burying itself into her skin. She cries out, dropping her bow and collapsing to her knees as pain shoots through her arm and body, clutching at the wound.

As if on some silent command, the battlefield reignites into chaos as the Pink Ranger lazily strolls through it all, making her way to Kim and batting aside any soldier -- Drakkon or Coinless -- who obstructs her path with laughable ease.

Kim groans, the pain making her brain buzz with delirious static, incomprehensible thoughts racing through her mind. The only thing she can make sense of is burning _pain._

"Kim!" Kat shouts as she, Aisha, Trini, and Zack rush over, leaving behind their posts in the skirmish. The Pink Ranger's head quickly snaps in the direction of Kat's voice, and she pauses, just about twenty feet from Kim and the others, tilting her head in curiosity.

Kat's hands are on her, helping her into a sitting position, and Trini supports her lower back, making sure not to touch where the arrow has pierced straight through to the other side. Kat rips the sleeve off of Kim's shirt to get a better look at the wound, and Kim tears her eyes away, nausea tickling her stomach again. The arrow -- whatever was _in_ it -- cleanly infected her with some sort of dark green taint, the color slowly spreading from her wound in jagged, veiny lines.

"Kim?" the Ranger speaks up for the first time, her voice muffled but intrigued from inside her helmet.

Chest heaving from the pain so strong she can hardly think, Kim focuses enough to latch onto the Ranger's voice. Something… something…

"Yes," Kat answers, looking up and snarling, suddenly all rage and none of that kindness that Kim had attributed to her, "Or have you forgotten your _own_ name, too?"

Kim's mouth falls open, even as the Ranger darkly chuckles and reaches up, clicking open the latches on the sides of her helmet and taking it off.

Kimberly Hart tosses her helmet aside, into the dirt, and grins with the teeth of hungry wolf, "No, I haven't forgotten, _Kat._ "

The wind knocked out of her chest, Kim gasps, raising a trembling finger to point at her doppelganger, older and with lighter skin and lighter hair, but unmistakably _her,_ "B-but, but, you said…"

Kimberly raises her eyebrows, amused, and tilts her head, smiling at the Rangers supporting Kim, "What'd they tell you about me, huh? I'm touched. You all have been talking about me even when I'm not there." Uncontested by any of them, she walks over and picks up Kim's bow, regarding it with a disdainful frown, and snaps it clean in half with her hands, tossing the remnants aside.

"We said you were dead," Trini snaps, abruptly, a low growl escaping her throat, "You died when you made your choice."

Nodding her head, Kimberly shrugs, seeming to agree, "That's a fair thing to say. Of course, I could say the same about you and Zack as well."

Trini narrows her eyes, "You killed Billy."

Kimberly sighs, taking on an exasperated tone, "Oh, we've been over this, Trini, I didn't _mean_ to, but he got in the _way--_ "

"You killed Adam and Rocky, _too,_ " Aisha interjects, about to rise, but Kat gets there first, leaving Kim's side and grabbing one of the arrows still in the quiver on her back, lunging for Kimberly with a shout.

The arrow was meant to stab, the way it's held in Kat's hand, but Kim doesn't know how _that_ would've worked out. She doesn't find out, anyway, because Kimberly acts, faster than Kat can run, and bolts forward, catching Kat mid-air by the throat, her fingers closing around Kat's windpipe.

Crying out in pain, Kat coughs and chokes, struggling. She lets go of Kim's arrow easily when Kimberly takes it from her hand and examines it. Bored, Kimberly lets Kat squirm and fight for air for a few more seconds, her thumb pressing down firmly, then pulls her arm back and hurls Kat a few feet away from Kim without as much as another thought. Getting a faceful of dirt, Kat gasps for air, hanging onto Aisha for dear life as the other woman rushes over to check on her.

" _That_ was a stupid decision to make," Kimberly says, looking at the arrow for another moment then breaks it in half with one hand just like she had the bow, discarding the pieces to the ground, "Don't try it again." Kimberly continues, her eyes twinkling with amusement, "I didn't come here to kill you, but I will if you decide to waste my time."

 _She_ **_enjoys_ ** _this,_ Kim realizes with a sickening churn of her stomach.

"As if you'd ever have any other reason," Zack says, his jaw set.

"Oh, no, I do," Kimberly responds, regarding Kim with an apathetic glance, "And, surprisingly, it's not for the girl, either, but I think I'll be taking her with me when I leave, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Like _hell_ you will," Trini snarls, tightening her grip on Kim's uninjured arm. Kim groans and tries her best to look defiant, but she's sure she only looks dead.

Kimberly throws her head back and laughs, and while Kim would've probably said it was a beautiful, musical sound had the circumstances been different, it definitely isn't in this context. "Would you like to stop me? Oh, that'll be fun to watch. Be my guest, _Trini._ But, first, before you so willingly offer yourself over, tell me where _Drakkon_ is."

Aisha, Kat, Trini, and Zack all pause and tense.

Kat is the first to speak, her voice hoarse as she holds a hand to her throat, "Drakkon's _dead,_ Kimberly. He _fell,_ and he _deserved_ it. A pathetic way to die for a pathetic man."

A glint of something dangerous appears in Kimberly's eyes, and Kim automatically crawls back, wincing in pain, but her fight-or-flight instinct is stronger, and she presses her back against Trini's arms. A moment passes, but Kimberly doesn't bring her bow up to shoot Kat point-blank like Kim thought she would. Instead, she just shakes her head and plasters on a fake, forced smile, "Oh, Kat, so little you know… he's _gone,_ not dead."

"What?" Zack whispers just to them, "That's… not possible."

"We saw him fall," Trini agrees, nodding.

"Well," Kimberly cuts in, "Explain to me why, then, when I had my sentries comb every inch of that cliff, they couldn't find _any_ trace of evidence that Drakkon was even there in the first place. There was no blood, not even one _drop._ "

Aisha scoffs, "Maybe your sentries are just useless."

Kimberly ignores her, "Tell me where he _is._ "

"Why do you think we'd know, huh?" Trini asks, holding her chin up, "Maybe he realized that he's got no chance against us and decided to get going while there was still time -- like the coward he is."

_Damn, Trini, coming for blood._

Kimberly just chuckles at that. "Coward? You think he's a _coward?_ Tell me, Trini," Kimberly's voice lowers, and Kim's body shudders at the venom dripping from her words, "Would a coward drive a sword through the leader of the Power Rangers and relish the glory of the life draining out of his eyes without a hint of remorse?" She grins, twisted, and Kim feels sick, "No, I don't think so."

"You're a coward," Trini fires back, "For letting him get inside your head and turn you against us."

"I made a choice," Kimberly says, "And, since you aren't any help at all… I'm going to make another choice." She raises her bow, putting her index and middle fingers together and touching them to the grip, readying herself.

"No!" Kim cries out, groaning and panting at the strain just speaking puts on her wound, "No! Don't-- don't hurt them." Against the hasty protests of Aisha, Kat, Trini, and Zack, she sits up, staring Kimberly down, "Fight me. Let them go."

Kimberly scoffs, "You? You can hardly stand. That wouldn't really be fair, would it?"

"And you care about fair?"

"Mm, no, I don't, but I was giving you a chance to rethink your useless, suicidal cause."

"I'll keep her busy," Kim says, waving for the others to take the Coinless soldiers and retreat, "Get everyone out of here." She grabs the shaft the arrow in her shoulder, blood dripping between her fingers, and yanks it out, screaming in agony. The dark green taint is spreading, ever so slowly, and Kim feels bits of her energy being sapped away with every little millimeter it grows inside of her. She tosses the arrow aside, gasping in pain, her fingers streaking her forehead with blood when she brushes strands of dirty hair out of her eyes.

"You and what powers?" Kimberly asks, clearly amused.

Kim's shoulder shake. She has to morph. With these other four powerless, she is the only one who _can._ She _has_ to. With a distressed sob, she forces the quiver over and off of her shoulder, tossing it on the ground. Shutting her eyes, Kim focuses on the connection again, but, this time, not to her team that's somewhere back home, wherever home is in relation to where she is now. No, she latches onto thoughts of the past few days she's spent with Aisha, Kat, Trini, and Zack. Their eyes were always clouded with vague distrust, and now she knows why, but she also knows that she _isn't_ this woman standing in front of her. Kim isn't a murderer, isn't a traitor. But, through that, despite that, the four of them had her back in the base and, now, on the battlefield. Their true colors aren't those of hatred and anger, despite how much of it they carry in their hearts, but compassion and kindness and _hope_ \-- hope that they can win, even, just a little bit.

Hope that one Kimberly Hart is not the same as another.

 _I would trade my life for theirs,_ Kim thinks, confidently, without hesitation, _I would trade my life for theirs and more, not because it's my duty as a Power Ranger, but because I want to._ Kim reaches behind her, fumbling until she feels Trini's fingers slip into hers, ignoring the dirt and blood covering her fingertips. Kim grips her hand, firmly, and Trini immediately squeezes her hand back, warmth flowing through her body.   _This,_ she mouths to herself, _This is the only thing that matters._

The last piece of her armor clicks into place, the thin but durable underlayer flowing over her fingertips, and Kim opens her eyes, staring at Kimberly through the tint of her own visor. She pulls her hand away from Trini's and stumbles to her feet, standing tall as the Pink Ranger. " _These_ powers," she says, bracing her feet against the ground.

Behind her, Zack curses, "Holy shit."

Kim spreads her arms out, ignoring the sharp jab of pain in her left shoulder, creating a barrier between Kimberly and the four former Rangers, "To get to them, you'll have to get through me." Her heart feels a little safer when she hears the four scrambling away and out of the danger zone.

Kimberly sets her bow down on the ground, grabbing her helmet and putting it back on. It clicks into place. "Gladly," she scoffs.

Kim blinks, her vision disoriented for a second, but it clears up pretty quickly when Kimberly's elbow goes flying toward her face. She ducks just in time, her movements sluggish. Fuck. She has to figure out how to get this battle to her advantage and _fast,_ otherwise they'd all end up dead and at the mercy of a woman who seemed to have none. Pulling her arms up, Kim easily blocks Kimberly's leg aimed for her chest and yanks, trying to shock her off-guard, but Kimberly anticipates it, shifting her weight and following through with only a fraction of a stumble when she straightens up. A growl comes out of Kimberly's throat as she lunges, going straight for the tackle, knocking Kim over onto the ground and slamming a fist into Kim's left shoulder.

A scream is torn from Kim's lips as she writhes in pain, pinned to the ground, unable to push back and get Kimberly off of her. Tears fall from her eyes as she gasps for breath, her vision turning hazy. She knows herself -- her style is fast, agile. The quicker she is, the better she fights because she could easily run circles around the monsters she fights on a daily basis, bleeding them dry with arrows. But, she can't. She's slow, burdened down by pain and exhaustion. Kimberly knows this -- had planned this with the way her arrow was _so_ sure and _so_ accurate -- and, for that, she doesn't beat around the bush with the normal agility and speed that Kim knows Kimberly would normally default to.

Kim lashes out, the sharp edges of the armor on her fist colliding with Kimberly's visor. Kimberly recoils, scrambling off of her, roaring in anger. Catching her breath with the weight off of her, Kim grips her injured shoulder, tears blurring her vision, but she looks up and sees with perfect clarity the shattered glass of Kimberly's visor, one eye exposed, evil and hauntingly beautiful.

Kimberly holds out her hand, and her menacing bow flies into her hand, summoned by her bond to it. She stands and draws two fingers against the grip, an arrow materializing along the path, but she points the bow at the dirt and waits, her eye cold and lifeless. "Let's see who shoots faster," she challenges.

Kim doesn't pause, doesn't freeze, and holds her right hand out, concentrating on summoning her own bow connected to her powers, and then--

A bright flash fills the sky, and a portal opens up above them. Five figures rapidly drop down amidst the hectic thundering of the wind affected by the portal.

The Power Rangers surround Kimberly in a perfect circle, their weapons drawn and their hands steady. Kim sighs in relief and lets go, her knees collapsing from underneath her. "Kim!" Trini and Tommie both rush to her side, leaving the boys to hold Kimberly at bay.

"Take a step back," Jason orders, pointing his sword at her without wavering, "And get away from our friend."

Kimberly scoffs, shaking her head, "Of course, your friends would come and save you just when you were about to prove yourself."

"I-- I have nothing to prove to _you,_ " Kim manages to weakly retort, her vision briefly blacking out when she blinks.

"Put the bow _down,_ " Zack adds.

Kimberly sighs and obeys, throwing her bow down, then raises her hands and reaches for her helmet. Jason, Billy, and Zack all edge a step closer to her, ready for any sudden moves. "Calm down," she remarks in a fakely sweet tone, "I'm just taking off my helmet…" She unclasps the helmet and throws it down next to her bow.

The boys and Trini and Tommie all pause, staring at her.

"Who…" Jason starts, his brow furrowing in confusion, but their distraction is enough of an opportunity for Kimberly.

She snaps her fingers, and a pink flash obscures her.

Kim bolts up, "She's getting aw--"

The bright light clears from their vision, and there's nothing left in the middle of the circle.

Kimberly Hart is gone.

 

-

 

The post-debriefing back at the base is awkward, to say the least. The Rangers had found out that, when Kim demorphed and weakly pulled back her shirt to reveal… nothing. The gaping hole is still in her shoulder, slowly healing, which would probably take another week to fully disappear, but there's no dark green taint. She touches her skin, avoiding the open wound, her mind racing.

"Maybe it stopped when you took out the arrow," Zack -- but not _her_ Zack -- says, crossing his arms, a grim frown on his face.

Kim shakes her head, "I still-- I still felt it when we were fighting. Whatever was in that arrow was still… affecting me."

"Maybe when she left, then," Kat suggests.

 _Not_ her Trini scowls, "That doesn't make any sense. Why not just kill her right away? Why control the flow and then stop it?"

"I'm just glad it stopped," Jason cuts in, sizing up the other four. Next to them, he looks so, so young, and Kim feels sick again to think about another Jason dying before he could save this world from its greatest threats.

"We used your connection to the Grid to track you," Billy explains, putting a gentle hand on Kim's shoulder, "When you morphed, we got a ping back at the ship, and we were able to figure out which dimension you'd fallen into."

Kim nods, chuckling, "Yeah, no more touching weird, glowy shit, right?"

"Absolutely not," _her_ Trini says, firmly, glaring at her, but her eyes aren't filled with hatred, just disguised concern.

"I mean, even _I_ know that," _her_ Zack quips, earning him a stern elbow in the side from Tommie.

"Hey, uh, quick question," Tommie mumbles, bending over so that she can speak closer to Kim's ear and away from the four former Ranger also standing in the infirmary, "You can see how everyone around here keeps looking at me like I did some crime against humanity to their family or something, right? Like, I'm not hallucinating that?"

Kim swallows the stone in her throat and makes eye contact with Kat, who almost imperceptibly shakes her head, murmuring back, quietly, "Um, we'll-- we'll talk later when we get home, okay?"

 

-

 

Their goodbyes are too short, too bittersweet.

Kat drapes Tommy's jacket around Kim's shoulders and tells her to keep it against her own protests. It's not that it used to belong to an evil man -- an evil _boy_ \-- but that it's just not hers to keep. However, Kat insists so much and threatens to get Aisha in on her side, so Kim finally relents and pulls the jacket closer around her shoulders. She catches Tommie's eyes, reading an unspoken question in them, and mouths _Later._

She hugs Aisha, Kat, Trini, and Zack with tears in her eyes, her shoulders shuddering as they pile into a group hug. It's only when she's in the middle of it that Kim realizes the distinction doesn't matter, even though she tried to think of it as such from the beginning. Her Trini or not, her Zack or not, they're her team, now.

Kim pulls away, her heart still aching, and gazes at them with sad eyes. She doesn't even know how old they are -- doesn't want to ask, doesn't _want_ to know -- but they've probably been at this for a couple of years, and that's a couple of years too many in her mind. "I--" her words catch in her throat, and she chokes them out, "I wanna… I wanna know how this ends."

"No, you don't, Kim," Aisha says, shaking her head like that's a lesson Kim still has to learn.

She protests, "No, I-- _she's_ still out there, and you don't-- you don't even know where Drakkon _is._ You need help. We can help."

"Go home," Kat says, smiling sadly, "You deserve some rest."

"You're ignoring me," Kim bites back tears.

"Forget about us," Trini requests, but it's not that _easy._

"Yeah," Zack agrees, "Our world is dead. Dying. If it's ever going to be alive again, that'll be a long time from now, and _we_ personally might not be around to see it. Move on, Kim. Don't worry about us."

"You can't _ask_ that of me," she mutters, desperately wiping at her cheeks and eyes with the sleeve of Tommy's jacket.

"Go home," Kat repeats, stepping forward to wrap Kim in one last hug, and whispers in her ear, "Do better than what you've seen here. Be better than she ever could."

With tears still silently trailing down her cheeks, Kim separates herself from the group hug and presses herself to Trini and Tommie's sides as she and her team get into a cluster and Billy activates the handheld device he'd built to get them to this world in the first place. The last thing Kim sees of the apocalypse is her four surviving teammates waving goodbye to her.

 

-

 

Almost two weeks later, the ache in Kim's shoulder is barely noticeable. The hole in her shoulder had healed up very nicely, and thankfully, she hadn't really had to hide it from her parents. They were too busy going through divorce proceedings to notice much, nowadays. It almost bothers Kim a little too much, but she waves the irritation aside because there's worse things that could've happened to her in the past couple of weeks.

She's in the cereal aisle at Target, trying to figure out what she's _craving,_ when out of her peripheral vision, she sees a brunette climb up onto the bottom shelf and use it as leverage to help her reach a box on the top shelf. Kim almost turns to ask if she can help, and then a bunch of boxes tumble loudly off of the shelf and to the floor.

"Shit!" The woman sighs, shaking her head, and bends over to pick up her mess.

Kim goes to help her, grabbing a couple of boxes and puts them back on the shelf, "Having trouble?"

The woman looks up, and Kim freezes, her heart skipping a beat inside of her chest, "Yeah, I guess so. I usually don't cause such a fuss when I normally do that, but… it's like they keep moving my favorite up higher just to spite me."

Kim forces out a chuckle, feeling her knees start to tremble a bit, "Universe has a weird way of working, huh?"

Rolling her eyes, the woman puts the last box back on the other shelves and glances up at what she wants on the top shelf. She glances at Kim, "Do you--"

"No, not at all," Kim says, a little too quickly, and easily reaches up on the tips of her toes, grabbing the cereal box the woman wants and handing it to her, ignoring the dull ache in her shoulder. The woman sticks it in her basket and smiles, brightly.

Kim's heart skips a beat, and her mouth falls open a little, surprised at how beautiful she looks when everything is just _normal._

"Thanks," the woman says, sighing, lightly, "Today just hasn't really been my lucky day."

Kim clears her throat and smiles back, "Well, um, maybe… maybe your luck is changing soon."

The woman ponders that for a second then nods, appreciatively, "Hey, I like that." She turns and walks away, giving Kim a short wave, "Have a good day."

"Yeah, you, too," Kim says, staring after Kimberly Hart as she walks away.

**Author's Note:**

> title from Young God - Halsey
> 
> i can't fucking believe that boom! studios is going to infinitely validate me when shattered grid kicks into full force and gives me the kim/kimberly interaction that i've been yearning for over a year like... They're Out There Doing That!!!
> 
> tbh... at the end... it can either be the *actual* kimberly hart of the main universe or drakkon verse kimberly... whichever one u want ;) although, that being said, there's one answer i'm more inclined to say than the other


End file.
